Newbie needs plans for Adirondack chair

[Roto Daddy]

I am new to this group and really just starting to get interested in woodworking. Does anyone know of some simple yet complete plans for an adirondack chair. So far the best bet seems to be a chair called, "Jake's Chair." Any suggestions/advice for a newbie???

[Edwin Pawlowski]

probably 50 other places. We have Google where we live, how about you?

[Andy]

Hi! Welcome to the group. If you go to Rockler.com, they have a deal right now where you get their Adirondack chair plan free if you sign up for their email newsletter. You might have to click 'reload' a few times on your browser, because the chair plan is one of 3 or 4 ads that cycle through when the page loads (right-hand side of page). If you don't have experience with them yet, Rockler is a great woodworking supply company in general. I don't know if Rockler's plan is better than other free plans you can find on google, but I like to look at a few plans (if available) and take things I like from each one before carefully planning my final version of whatever I'm making. There is also a fairly detailed Adk chair plan at Popular Mechanics

you can try searching google groups - a few recent threads suggest that Norm's adk chair plans are the most comfortable (that's Norm of New Yankee Workshop - check out the link in the post above), while Jake's chair isn't as comfortable or good looking. I haven't built any of these - I'm just passing along things I've seen recently while browsing. In my experience, the free plans you can find all over the web are usually not very detailed, not step by step, or maybe just "shop drawings". When you pay for plans, or download the "weekly special" or whatever from various woodworking catalogs or magazines, there are often more detailed cut lists, diagrams, and step-by-step photos and descriptions. Of course there are lots of exceptions both ways here. Hope this is helpful - good luck and have fun with your project, Andy

[Andy]

Hi! Welcome to the group. If you go to Rockler.com, they have a deal right now where you get their Adirondack chair plan free if you sign up for their email newsletter. You might have to click 'reload' a few times on your browser, because the chair plan is one of 3 or 4 ads that cycle through when the page loads (right-hand side of page). If you don't have experience with them yet, Rockler is a great woodworking supply company in general. I don't know if Rockler's plan is better than other free plans you can find on google, but I like to look at a few plans (if available) and take things I like from each one before carefully planning my final version of whatever I'm making. There is also a fairly detailed Adk chair plan at Popular Mechanics

you can try searching google groups - a few recent threads suggest that Norm's adk chair plans are the most comfortable (that's Norm of New Yankee Workshop - check out the link in Edwin's post), while Jake's chair isn't as comfortable or good looking. I haven't built any of these - I'm just passing along things I've seen recently while browsing. In my experience, the free plans you can find all over the web are usually not very detailed, not step by step, or maybe just "shop drawings". When you pay for plans, or download the "weekly special" or whatever from various woodworking catalogs or magazines, there are often more detailed cut lists, diagrams, and step-by-step photos and descriptions. Of course there are lots of exceptions both ways here. Hope this is helpful - good luck and have fun with your project, Andy

[Roto Daddy]

I googled it and found a bunch of pay plans and a few partial free plans. I don't want to put too much $$$ into a project that I just might butcher :-)

[Roto Daddy]

Thanks for your help. I've downloaded a few free "plans." I think I'll do Jake's Chair since it uses all 1X's and looks the easiest to accomplish with my limited expertise and tools.

[roystr]

i used to have plans for a "jake chair" an adirondack chair kinda modified by some old guy years ago i think. the plan was made to make the perfect addirondack chair,wider arms,different slant to the back ect ect... my puter coocked a month or so ago, so i have no links to give you. but id guess asearch would help you.

good luck,and keep us posted

roy

im back,, here ya go

i look at this chair again,,i now want to build a set even more than before. :-)

[Andy Dingley]

They're all staggeringly ugly (Jake's especially so), except the one that Fine Woodworking did a few years ago. As they're all approximately the same trouble to make, get the shape right first.

It's a good first project. If you can store it under cover for the winter (assuming my climate) then it's worthwhile making a cheap softwood one. If you're a bit more confident, then spend more and use longer lasting timber, but please go easy on the rainforests.

[Clint]

I made this one from Wood Magazine:

It was pretty well received by SWMBO. I didn't do the two-tone thing, I made mine out of cedar, left it a natural color with 3 coats of Sikken's Cetol on it. I don't think it looked ugly. The materials were (AFAIR) entirely 2x6 and 1x6 regular stock from Home Depot. I don't think I had to use my bandsaw to thin down any material; I think it was designed to use regular stock thickness on purpose.

Anyway, my $0.02. I can post pictures in the alt.binaries.pictures.woodworking newsgroup if you want to see what it looked like. I can't tell you how long it took to make, but it was longer than I'd like. However, it wasn't exactly rocket science.

Clint

[Rick Damon]

If it's not too late to jump in on this I'd like to put in a big plug for Norm Abram's plan in "New Yankee Workshop". I think it is actuall the book "Classics From The New Yankee Workshop" that has these plans. I've built 8 of these chairs and they've lasted for quite a few years. Theses chairs are so comfortable that you could use them in the living room! I can particularly recommend these plans for a new woodworker, as this is what I started out with myself.

If you're feeling particularly confident you might also get the more recent video and measured drawing for the Adirondack Loveseat from The New Yankee Workshop. This project updated several things about the original chair (such as countersunk and plugged screws in place of nails in many places) which you could incorporate into the original plans.

Good luck!

[Barry Lennox]

I went around and around on Adirondack chair plans a few months ago. I looked hard at "Jakes Chair" but decided it was a bit ugly. In the end I used the design (It's not really a plan) from FWW of May/June 1999. It's quite attractive and very comfortable. I have built 3 for my own use, and have built some for friends, etc, with more orders waiting.

The first one took about 5 hours to build. But now I have templates and jigs, and can turn out 3 in a morning, excluding painting or finishing.

Barry Lennox

[Olebiker]

I have to agree with Rick on the NYW Adirondack chair. I have built dozens of them for my family, as gifts, and a few ever for sale. Right now, we are having an Ebay-style auction at work to raise money for the United Way. I donated one of the chairs and, as of a little while ago, the bid was $55. I build them from pressure treated lumber then paint them.

[Roland]

Hi

I have made a few of jakes chair, easy to do if you take a little time with measuring and follow his notes forputting it together, I also changed the back design to improve the looks - this is why I made more as friends then wanted them. If you want to see pics of my finished ones email me at [e-mail] and I will forward them. I hope you enjoy making them as much as I did.